Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. On May 12, 1864 At the Battle of Spotsylvania, a section of an artillery battery was deployed in front of then-Corporal John P. Beech's 4th New Jersey Infantry Regiment. In minutes most of the battery's men had been cut done by enemy fire. Corporal Beech sprang forward and assisted the remaining cannoneers despite being under severe fire the entire time. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery in 1894, thirty years after. Sergeant Beech enlisted in 1861 at age 17, and was at first told he was too short to be a soldier.